Fidget Spinners In School

Fidget Spinners are becoming quite the trend lately, with most stores selling out faster than supplies can come in, but are they a good thing?

One way to think about them is much like knitting or foot tapping. It is a way to occupy the physically active part of the brain leaving the rest available to concentrate on what other task may be at hand.

These toys however are very popular among kids at school and some people are wondering if they are doing more harm than good. It is a debate that is going on right now if they should be banned from schools or not. Some schools are doing so on their own, like one in North Bay, but is that the right way to go about it?

It is true that they can be a distraction. But they also help certain children to be able to focus. Research has shown that fidgeting can help people with certain forms of ADHD to focus and be able to learn better.

So perhaps banning the toys is not the answer. But what is? There is an Ottawa Professor who thinks that much of the need for the spinners could be solved by changing the way the education curriculum deals with children in the classroom by adding my physically engaging activities.

Considering how many kids don’t get nearly as much physical activity around the home as they used to this may be something worth considering.

Read more about the Professor’s thoughts in the article this story concept came from on CBC.ca